AOL-Yahoo Merger Rumors Dismissed by Tim Armstrong

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong feels confident enough with his company's middling third quarter earnings, released today, to tell the world that, No, AOL doesn't want to merge with Yahoo, despite rumors to the contrary. AllThingsD's Peter Kafka met up with Armstrong following his two calls with finance and media folk to talk about AOL's third quarter, video-tapping the interview (below). Kafka decided to strongarm Armstrong into answering the most titillating question surrounding his company: Are rumors of a marriage between the two Internet dinosaurs, circulating since September, true? Here's how Kafka's question went down with Armstrong:

Me: So what’s going with Yahoo? Are you talking to them?

Armstrong: “…when i think about our company and where our future is, and those things, it’s really as an independent entity, and being very focused on our core strategy.”

Me: Ah. So you want to be a standalone company, and you don’t want to merge with Yahoo. Right?

Armstrong: “From our results today, and from what you’ve heard me say publicly, and what we’re focused on, the answer is yes.”

According to Kafka, Armstrong inserting that he wants to keep AOL independent is as "close to a denial as we’re going to get." Watch the whole interview below.